Château de Sacy Eco-living & Writing Retreat

Rita Banerjee will be teaching at the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop Eco-living and Writing Retreat at Château de Sacy, one hour from Paris, France. Instructors include Patrick Rosal, Srikanth Reddy, Rita Banerjee, and Diana Norma Szokolyai. The program will take place from August 22-31, 2012. It will be all-inclusive including lodging & three home-cooked meals/day with organic and local food. Application and guidelines available at: http://cww.submittable.com

Château de Sacy is located in the region of Picardy, one hour from Paris. This ecologically sustainable and artistic haven is nestled in the small village of Sacy-le-Petit, which dates back to prehistoric and Roman times. Sacy was close to an ancient road called “la voie royale,” which carried pewter all the way from England to Rome. There are many local legends involving horses, curses, and secret passageways that folks still talk about in Sacy-le-Petit. The present owner of the château, Hermine Demoriane, is part of the same family that has lived there for over 200 years. Her love for art and ecologically sustainable living has transformed the estate into a venue for art residencies, exhibitions and volunteer organic gardening.

If you are serious about your writing, please join us. Here are some of the experiences you may have: Imagine waking up to church bells or the dame du château ringing the bell. Fresh organic fruit and homemade yogurt await you downstairs. Sun is pouring in through the stone walls, and you can smell the raspberries in the window. During the day, you spend hours focusing on shaping your work of writing. In specialized writing workshops, you receive feedback on your writing, try experimental methods that push the boundaries of your writing, and have the opportunity to share with other experienced writers. Your free moments of the day are spent on walks through the nearby forest trails, on bike rides to pick up farm eggs, or sketching beautiful poppies in the fields. Lunch and dinner will be served at the château by wonderful cooks, and you’ll be amazed at the no-waste kitchen Madame Demoriane keeps. For nearly every meal, organic vegetables and fruits are harvested from the “potager” (kitchen garden). Your days will be filled with refreshing meals, interesting conversations, and most importantly—creative writing! Day excursions will include a literary tour of Paris and local arts events. There will also be a reading for participants of the workshop to share their work and music by classical musicians in the evening.